A positive news segment on Independent Childcare, FINALLY!!!!

[cfred]

The interview with Global News went well and thank god that's over! The reporter, though pro-licensing, was very nice and, I think seeing things a little differently after 2 hours in my home daycare. The segment is balanced, actually a bit favourable to us, I think and, though it barely scratches the surface of licensing issues in Ontario, it's a nice start. CICPO will be starting up letter writing initiatives to follow up this piece to 'strike while the iron is hot'. This piece is definitely pointed in the right direction and we hope to get more media attention to spread public awareness. I hope some of you will want to participate as well :)

http://globalnews.ca/video/3377473/chid-care-crisis-in-ontario-how-to-fix-it

[Van]

Excellent video cfred, and the children were so well behaved considering the TV crew were there for 2 hours !!:)

[cfred]

Excellent video cfred, and the children were so well behaved considering the TV crew were there for 2 hours !!:)

Thanks! The kids were amazing! That was a lot of hustle and bustle in a small space, so I'm really proud of the little monkeys :) Of course, when my back was to them, I could hear them doing all kinds of things they'd NEVER do if I was able to monitor them...like dumping the coloured sand absolutely everywhere. The mum that was on camera later was there helping, but kids can always tell when you're 'indisposed'.

Hopefully this segment is the start of a conversation about different licensing models in Ontario. I guess I should probably expect a 'random' inspection soon, lol!

[Peacefulbird]

Thank you so much Cfred, I really hope parents got a hint of what is really going on. They can not ignore the fact that 80% of the chilcare is handled by us and the licensed sector had more insidents than our sector, and they only handle 20% and if they analize it, the deaths happened in Illegal conditions, where the ministry of education did not do anything. So, they had to find a scape goat "us"; hard working dedicated caregivers.

It really makes me think who is really interested in the wellfare of the children, when all I see in meetings and media is only "blue suits". Do not tell me these people actually works with children on the floor. I'm very sure they're mostly employees of big stakeholders who are taking advantage of an unfortunate insident in an "illegal" situation.

We are not hiding, we are not doing anything illegal, we do want to keep helping families. We want to be "licensed"; we want to be part of the huge change happening, i'm asking to them, please do not ignore us.

If the meaning of "quality and safety" for them is oversight then, make it possible and affordable for every caregiver. Not just supporting "agencies" who are charging $3000 and $4000 a year.

Also I wonder, where all the promised funding will go, I'm very sure to all "the blue suits", while Ece's still working three jobs to afford a living.

[Fearlessbaby]

How much to Wee Watch and other agencies charge the parents?

[cfred]

How much to Wee Watch and other agencies charge the parents?

I'm really not sure. I know for Hopscotch (similar to WeeWatch) in my area charge parents $42/day (FT infant). The Provider gets $35 and still has to pay her expenses out of the remainder. So, a 20% loss for that one, less expenses. Andrew Fleck charges the parent $48 and the provider gets $35 - approximately 28%. So they can vary anywhere from 10%-30% depending on the agency. There are several Weewatch infant spaces in my area that charge the parents $42, so I would assume t amount held back from providers would be similar. These are the lowest priced spaces in the whole area and have been sitting there for several months. I think that speaks to the agency's quality. And for some areas (like mine), those agencies are all that's available. And then there is Compass, that offers a $100/mo package, which is basically a 'no frills' kind of deal.

But really, we (CICPO) are of the mind that we shouldn't have to fishing around for the best of the poor options out there.

[Peacefulbird]

In my area, West of ontario. The non-for-profit agencies are charging between $43 to $45 to parents and pay caregivers between $32 to $35. I did a basic math calculation and this is what I found out. Caregivers that are filled by agency "clients" only, six spots. Agencies are collecting between $11,000 to $12,000 from each caregiver a year. Now multiply that for the number of caregivers they handle. And they call themselves (non-for-profit?)

An agency caregiver gets let's say $35 per child per day, aprox. $3.7 per hour. But still, more expenses to be covered by the caregiver such as ; 2 snacks, lunch, even breakfast in some cases. Also the expenses of the utilities in her house (water, hydro, gas etc) which is tax deductible but just a percentage not 100%. After all the deductions the caregiver still has to pay income tax in most of the cases.

Now everyone please tell me how can they advocate for "quality" when agencies are paying so little?

Independent caregivers, charge more bUT, we invest in our programs so children can thrive. Many caregivers have invested in their education such as Early childhood Education, montessori, etc.so they can offer "quality" programs to families.

[cfred]

The entire crux of their argument about 'quality' is based on oversight. Most of us already have the quality aspect down. If we had affordable, independent oversight then the lower quality providers either have to shape up or lose business....and agencies really have become redundant. We simply have more money to put back into our businesses, so it stands to reason that we have access to higher quality food, supplies, equipment, etc. That's the joy of not working below the poverty line....something the agency sector hasn't figured out yet. They're focused on saving their crippled sector so screaming oversight is really all they have. If we have oversight, they've got nothing left to balk at.

[dodge__driver11]

I have said this before and will say it again. In SK the INDIVIDUAL is Licenced it can be done, and honestly for little cost.... I don't see the huge deal.

[Peacefulbird]

The problem is; that Ontario is the only province that has agencies. I'm sure somehow the MOE is trying to keep them afloat, but if you make more math of it even at $42 per child and paying the minimun per hour to a caregiver $33. Imagine how much collects every home visitor (allowed for 25 homes and aprox. 150 children), it seems all that money goes to their administration sector (directors, accountants, visitors, etc) so, there isn't any surprise when they say they support their communities or have CEOs or stakeholders advocating for "oversight or quality".and try to make disappear our sector.

If there isn't any money in it then ,why would they fight?

Cfred and dodge driver, you're absolutely right there isn't any other reason of why they will stop us. I agree, our sector is qualified and proffesional and responsible parents recognize it.

These agenies are currently asking for "base funding"; insinuating that if the government helps them out with their administration costs, the funding will help them to also help our sector. But, we know basically that the funding won't be used as such, they will be able to keep it in their pockets or create more unnecessary jobs and desks.

We as Icp's, are clearly demonstrating that it is posible to be selfsustained, we do all, from administration to quality service delivery. And we have not asked for any help such as "base funding"; we are only asking to make possible licensing affordable. And we know it can be done. Do not tell me that other service sectors pay $3000 to $4000 a year for their licenses and yet still get monitored.

If they're asking and looking for oversight then make it posible for every caregiver and no matter what, it should be affordable for a caregiver with one or six children in care.

Agencies are currently charging per year. But, all of us know that we are not guaranteed to keep our spots full every year or even months. Families come and go. They're also offerin a grant to caregivers that have low income if they're with an agency, my question is how much more the agency also keeps from it (administration fees). Mean while the poor caregivers are ordered to improve their menus and quality for an extra $20 a day when caring for 6 children.

[kindredspirit]

Nova Scotia has agencies, but in my opinion, they do it right! There is zero charge to the provider or parent, everything the agency does is government funded. I get monthly visits (they usually bring a craft or toys/equipment to borrow for the month, check my attendance book, menus and checklists, we chat about any issues or brainstorm answers for problems other providers are having). I get $500 per year towards education, monthly night out with other providers, and a yearly inspection. Parents love it-none of mine qualify for subsidy, but every single one commented on that in the interview that they liked knowing someone had checked it out already.

The government must spend a fortune on it, but in return, they have a lot more regulated homes in their system, because it's actually attractive to join an agency.

[Peacefulbird]

How interesting, I would absolutely get licensed and support agencies like the ones in Nova Scotia. I thought it was only Ontario that had agencies (missinformed).

[cfred]

Thanks for the info, Kindredspirit! That sounds like your government is very committed to childcare and support it with lots of base funding. Our Ministry of Education said there isn't any money for licensing us, so our only option is to go through agencies who push the cost of the monthly home visits onto the providers. One of our execs was talking to an Andrew Fleck provider and found out that they take a massive amount from providers. I think the amount totaled approximately $20,000 per year, with a full house of 6 children. Who among us can afford to lose that? In our opinion, it is up to the Ministry to cover that, not the low paid providers. It's a terrible system here. I"m thrilled that CICPO has had some impact in that more agencies are coming up with new, more attractive models, but it still isn't even close to good enough. The MOE puts almost all of its money in centre care, leaving out the largest sector. Very short sighted!

[Peacefulbird]

Of course, Andrew Fleck takes advantage of its seniority in Ottawa. But, honestly they should analize their funding and all the the desks they've created there. It is a lot and people working on those desks make also a lot plus all kinds of benefits.

I'm not surprised that, those caregivers are paying the tab.

[cfred]

Gah...I'd rather gnaw off my own arm than work for Andrew Fleck under Kim Hiscott. Compass sounds much better and we really liked the head of that agency. Our favourite is Natural Connections. Kelli WAS an ICP once, so very supportive and understanding of our needs and concerns. People like Kim Hiscott, Marni Flaherty and all their cronies have one narrow vision for childcare and it's very cookie cutter. Most parents like the diversity ICPs offer. We're not arguing against oversight and licensing, just the way it's being offered. We think other provinces have shown that there is, indeed, more than one way to license a home daycare.

[Van]

It works well in BC without the Agency as the home-daycares are all licensed and getting a annual
visit by the Lic Officers as they work with us.There are also Lic not Required daycares if they want to take care of less children. The Ontario Agencies seem to be just grabbing the money from their group of daycares for doing nothing, which I don't understand.

[Peacefulbird]

In my personal view all the system in Ontario is corrupt. Even the fact fact of supporting and creating more centres, they do not learn from mistakes, in a Ece's conference there was the representative of the Quebec childcare system, they're facing a huge problem, they've created so many government run centres that at first it was fine but eventually they got over run, the government can not keep up with the maintenance of those centres, as a result, their enrollment is lowering which now, doesn't justify all the expenses that they're incurring to run these old centres. And obviously there is also a for-profit sector that keeps creating new and modern centres that attract parents. Which also the government supports through facilitating licensing there isn't any sense, you can see three to four daycares in a block, all offering different kind of incentives to parents. But also leaving the public sector in struggle, the government somehow has to still keep up running these centres.

If they create something like that here in Ontario, it will be our taxes and our future generations paying, for the poor decisions made by a corrupted system.